Forbidden Falls by Robyn Carr

Noah Kincaid and Ellie Baldwin's book



Forbidden Falls (Virgin River #9)

By Robyn Carr

Book Blurb:Noah Kincaid arrives ready to roll up his sleeves and revitalize his new purchase, but he's going to need some help. An ad in the local paper brings and improbably candidate his way.

"Pastor's assistant" is not a phrase that springs to mind when Noah meets brassy, beautiful Ellie Baldwin. With her colorful clothes and even more colorful past, Ellie needs a respectable job so she can regain custody of her children. Noah can't help but admire her spunk and determination, and she may just be the breath of fresh air he needs.
The unlikely duo may come from two different worlds, but they have more in common than anyone would have expected. And in Virgin River lasting happiness is never out of the question.

Earlier this year I had read the previous Virgin River books from 1 to 8. I read them in order back to back. I decided to take a break from the series and come back to it later. I also decided to take a break at that particular point because the next book, Forbidden Falls was where the romance was going to be about the newest Virgin River resident, a pastor. 
Okay I am going to be 100% truthful here and share that I was not excited about reading a romance about a pastor. I had misconceptions that the story was going to be about his struggle with maintaining his spot in the community vs. the love/lust with an exotic dancer. I thought I wasn't going to be into it. 

I indicated about "misconceptions" because that is exactly what I had. Forbidden Falls was a lovely story and it was not at all what I thought it was going to be about. I'm really glad I decided to give it a go and not skip it. I would have really missed out on a great story. I should have had more faith in the great Robyn Carr. My bad. 

I have to admit that it was a bit quirky to have the church bid and bought on ebay but it was amusing. I have absolutely no knowledge of the Presbyterian religion so I just went with the flow. I have no idea if they are as free with pre-marital sex or not. There are not a lot of sex scenes in Robyn Carr's stories anyhow so it was a small part of the story. 

Noah was a cool guy. He was a very caring, selfless man and it certainly seems like the call to be a minister suited him. 

Ellie made me smile. I loved her teasing and the nicknames that she constantly bestowed on Noah. Her positive attitude was to be admired. I would not have handled her children's custody situation in nearly the same grace that she did. I wanted to jump into the book and and strangle her ex-husband. 

The wisest person in Forbidden Falls was Ellie's deceased grandmother. I had a paperback of the book but if I had my Kindle, I would have copied so many quotes. Ellie's grandmother was dirt poor and left Ellie with years' worth of life quotes and positive sediments. For some reason, Ellie seemed to remember every single one of them. For instance:

"You don't need a lot of money to live a full life - all you need is a fertile mind, some books and a good attitude. Books are free at the library, but a fertile mind takes practice."

Forbidden Falls thankfully sticks to just a few of the side character stories. I do love the residences of Virgin River but I don't need to   visit each and everyone in each book. Forbidden Falls focuses mostly on Noah & Ellie's romance, Paul & Vannie's new unexpected family addition and a bit on Jo & Nick Fitch. (You may remember them from previous books where Nick was the groper and Mel flattened him)  I really liked the small part of Jo & Nick Fitch. 

Forbidden Falls rounds out the story with Luke and Shelby's wedding. I was pleased about that!
The only thing that has left me wondering is why the title of the book is called Forbidden Falls. I don't recall any waterfalls. It is a play on words with the story line being about a pastor and an ex-stripper and it is forbidden? 

Teasers: Lucy the boarder collie, renovated church, lucky score under the stairs, poor Vannie